As supermarket tenants are challenged to meet the needs of an increasingly diversified and sophisticated consumer base, and given the significant trend toward consolidation, landlords are tasked with delivering top-notch grocery-anchored centers — with a diminishing number of anchors from which to choose.

Sloan’s, an upscale ice cream, candy and baked-goods emporium, has launched a national franchising program, targeting regions in Florida, the Carolinas, Georgia, New York and New England and throughout California.

Grocer Bi-Lo LLC said that it has acquired southern supermarket chain Winn-Dixie, in a $560 million transaction that will take Winn-Dixie Stores Inc. private and create the largest grocery operator in the South.

Solutions Spotlight

The responsibilities of the retail CIO can essentially be boiled down to four major roles: Business Transformer, Customer Expert and Advocate, Technology Visionary and Culture Warrior. In this e-book, Oracle chief communications officer Bob Evans examines how great retail CIOs rise to challenges of fulfilling each role, even as they inevitably gravitate toward one role over the others.